Precooling apparatus



June 23, 1942- s. PERKINS ETAL PRECOOLING APPARATUS 2 Shets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 3, 1941 5 K mN hm \N \w\ ilk m ruEk. w a W I i n i m 2 t P n r 1. RNJI mm Q aw m T. mm 3 m M\\ B .ZM ,5 I m m. A %-%NR Patented June 23, 1942 2,287,705 PRECOOLING APPARATUS Sidney Perkins, Hammond, Marion T. Fannaly, Ponchatoula, and Malcolm B. Wright, Jr.,

Hammond, La.

Application February 3, 1941, Serial No. 377,262

6 Claims. (01. 62--24') This invention relates to an apparatus for precooling refrigerator cars of the type used for shipping fruit and other perishable food, and it is one object of the invention to provide a firefrigerator car with improved mechanism for circulating cold air from end bunkers over the load toward the center of the car where the cold air moves downwardly and then through the load toward ends of the car a where it enters the bunkers and moves upwardly therein for cooling and recirculation through the car.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of this character wherein fans are associated with bafiies or partitions so mounted that they may be shifted longitudinally of the car to a position in spaced relation to walls of the bunkers where they will be so spaced from air outlets in upper portions of the bunker walls that they will not interfere with free flow of air from the bunkers. g g

Another object of the invention is to so form the partitions or baiiies that they will have sealed engagement with the side walls and the top of the car, thus making it necessary for air flowing from the bunkers to pass through ducts or conduits having fans associated therewith, the fan housings being fixed to the conduits and the partitions, conduits, and fan casings being movable as units longitudinally of the car into and out of proper spaced relation to the bunkers after the car has been loaded.

Another object of the invention is to provide curtains or shields which rest upon the load between the baffles and the bunkers so that they cover the load and cause the cold air from the bunkers to be properly discharged through the conduits or ducts by the fans.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the character described which is simple in construction, easy to install, and effi cient in operation.

With these and numerous other objects in view, our invention consists in the novel features of construction, combinationand arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter referred to and more particularly pointed out in the specification and claims.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1' is a vertical sectional view taken longitudinally through a refrigerator car equipped with the improved apparatus;

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing the apparatus and a portion of the car in longitudinal section;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken transversely through the upper portion of the car along the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a view of a baffle or partition before being applied to the car; and

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the mounting plate for the fan casing. V

The car which is indicated in general by the numeral l represents a freight car of the type used for shipping fruit and other perishable goods. The car is lined with heat insulating material 2 and at each end is provided with a bunker 3 of sufficient size to receive a predetermined quantity of ice 4. The ice rests upon a perforated floor 5 and its wall 5 is formed with upper and lower openings so that air may enter the bunkers under their floors 5 and after passing upwardly through the ice flow out through the openings! and move longitudinally of the car over the stacked boxes 9 of the fruit or other produce which rest upon the perforated false bottom I 0 of the car. This is the general arrangement usually provided in a refrigerator car but has been found unsatisfactory as the cold air flowing from the openings 1 has a tendency to move downwardly through cracks between the stacked boxes before reaching the space at the center of the car between the stacks where the cold air is to settle and then move under the false bottom of the car toward the bunkers for recooling as it flows upwardly through the bunkers.

\ Referring to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings it will be seen that in order to control flow of air through the car there have been provided partitions or baffles I i which are formed of stiff materialsuch as wood or metal and are of such dimensions that they fit snugly between side walls of the car with their upper edges abutting the top of the car. Each partition is bordered by a strip of fabric or other suitable flexible material l2 which projects from margins of the partition and is folded across edge faces thereof and crimped at its corners, as shown in Figure 3 so that it will have close contacting engagement with the walls and the top of the car to form a seal and also provide a seal along the lower edge of the partition. Strips l3 of wood or other rigid material are secured along portions of the packing or sealing material which project from the upper edge and side edges of the partition to reinforce these projecting portions and cause them to have smooth and continuous contacting engagement with the side Wall and the top of the car.

In order to cover the stacked boxes 9 there have been provided covers or blankets I4 which are formed from sheets of canvas or other suitable fabric and have their side edge portions rolled and sewed to form sleeves or tubes through which pass metal rods IS. The encased tubes bear against side walls of the car, as shown in Figure 4, and each cover or blanket has one end turned upwardly to form a flap I! which bears against the outer surface of the wall 6 of the cooperating bunker. A strip l8 of wood reinforces each flap and serves to hold it in close contacting engagement with the bunker. There have also been provided cross bars I9 which rest upon the upper surfaces of the covers near opposite ends thereof and have their ends abutting the encased rods l6 so that these rods will be braced and the covers prevented from shifting transversely or becoming wrinkled. The blankets are of such length that each covers about onethird of the stack of boxes upon which it rests and the inner ends of the blankets fit under the sealed lower edges of the partitions, thus providing a tight closure between the blankets and the partitions.

An opening is formed in each partition and surrounded by a throat or neck 2| which projects outwardly from the partition. The outer end of each neck fits about one end of a tubular fan housing 22 in which an electric fan 23 is mounted by a suitable number of brackets 24. The blades of the fans are so pitched that when the fans are in operation air will be drawn through the necks 2| and the fan housings 22 and discharged over the uncovered portions of the stacks of boxes toward the center of the car. The cold air drawn from the portions of the car between the partitions and the bunkers will thus be discharged over the portions of the stacks near the center of the car and this is important as fruit in these boxes ripen fastest and in refrigerator cars now in use often becomes overripe and sometimes becomes rotten during transportation. housings rest upon platforms 25 having shanks 26 carrying upstanding eyes 21 to which ropes 28 are secured, the ropes being of such length that they may be easily grasped by a person standing in the car between the stacks of boxes and pull exerted to draw the platform and the fan housings along the boxes to stretch the blankets and dispose the partitions the proper distance from the bunkers.

From the foregoing description of the construc- I tion of our improved device, the operation thereof and the method of applying the same to use, will be readily understood. It will be seen that we have provided a simple, inexpensive and efficient means for carrying out the objects of the invention and while we have particularly described the elements best adapted to perform the functions set forth, it is obvious that various changes in form, proportion and in the minor details of construction may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the principles of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In combination with a refrigerator having bunkers at its ends and means for supporting stacks of material between the bunkers and the center of the refrigerator, partitions in the refrigerator over the stacks spaced from ends of the stacks and in sealed engagement with the The fan walls and the top of the refrigerator, blankets for the stacks extending between the bunkers and the lower ends of the partitions and resting upon the stacks, platforms resting upon exposed portions of the stacks, means for shifting the platforms along the stacks, necks extending outwardly from the partitions about openings formed therein, tubular fan housings carried by said platforms and extending longitudinally of the refrigerator with their inner ends connected with outer ends of the necks, and fans in the housings for drawing cold air out of space between the partitions and the bunkers and discharging the same along the exposed portions of the stacks.

2. In combination with a refrigerator having bunkers at its ends and means for supporting stacks of material between the bunkers and the center of the refrigerator, partitions in the refrigerator over the stacks spaced from ends of the stacks, each partition being formed with an outlet opening in its lower portion, strips of pliable material secured along margins of the partitions with portions folded across edges faces thereof and confined between edges of the partitions and the walls and the top of the refrigerator to provide seals, a neck extending outwardly from each partition about the opening therein, fan housings extending outwardly from the necks over exposed portions of the stacks, fans in the fan housings for drawing cold air outwardly through the necks and the housings, and supports for the fan housings resting upon the exposed portions of the stacks and shiftable along the same longitudinally of the refrigerator.

3. In combination with a refrigerator having air-cooling means at its ends and means for supporting stacks of material between the cooling means and the center of the refrigerator in spaced relation to the floor of the refrigerator, partitions in said refrigerator over the stacks spaced from ends thereof with their margins in sealed engagement with the walls and the top of the refrigerator, blankets for covering portions of the stacks between the partitions and the cooling means formed of pliable material and having their side edge portions folded and secured to form marginal pockets for the blankets, reinforcing bars enclosed in said pockets, bars extending transversely across the blankets in spaced relation to each other longitudinally thereof with their ends in tight-fitting engagement with the enclosed bars to stretch the blankets transversely, the partitions being formed with outlet openings, fan housings disposed ouwardly of the partitions and communicating with the outlet openings, and fans in the fan housings for drawing cold air outwardly through the fan housings and discharging the cold air along exposed portions of the stacks.

4. In combination with a refrigerator having air-cooling means at its ends and means for supporting stacks of material between the cooling means and the center of the refrigerator in spaced relation to the floor of the refrigerator, partitions in said refrigerator over the stacks, each partition being located in spaced relation to both ends of the stack over which it is disposed and formed with an outlet opening, blankets for covering only the portions of the stacks between the partitions and the cooling means, the remaining portions of the stacks being uncovered, bars carried by said blankets along sides thereof, extending across the blankets transversely thereof with their ends in close fitting engagement with the side bars to stretch the blankets and hold the side bars close against side walls of the refrigerator, fan housings disposed outwardly of the partitions and communicating with the outlet openings thereof, and fans in the fan housings for drawing air outwardly and discharging the air from the fan housings along the uncovered portions of the stacks towards the center of the re frigerator.

5. In combination with a refrigerator having air-cooling means at its ends and means for supporting stacks of material between the cooling means and. the center of the refrigerator in spaced relation to the floor of the refrigerator, partitions in said refrigerator over the stacks each located substantially midway the length of the stack over which it is disposed, said partitions providing air chambers between the partitions and the cooling means, blankets for resting upon the stacks between the partitions and the cooling means, the portions of the stacks between the partitions and the center of the refrigerator being uncovered, and means for withdrawing air from the chambers through openings in the partitions and discharging the air outwardly therefrom along the uncovered portions of the stacks toward the center of the refrigerator.

6. In combination with a refrigerator having air-cooling means at its ends and means for supporting stacks of material between the cooling means and the center of the refrigerator in spaced relation to the floor of the refrigerator, partitions in said refrigerator over the stacks spaced from the cooling means to provide air chambers between the partitions and the cOoling means, blankets for resting upon the stacks between the partitions and the cooling means, portions of the stacks being exposed between the partitions and the center of the refrigerator, and means for withdrawing air from the air chambers and discharging the air over the exposed portions of the stacks.

SIDNEY PERKINS. MARION T. FANNALY. M. B. WRIGHT, JR. 

